Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak just before the time allocation is finished. What a shame it is that they moved closure on this debate and we will not hear any more wise words.
Over the last year and a half I had the opportunity to go into many of the reserves with grassroots people. I am speaking on behalf of a lot of seniors, elders who live on the reserves and who have spoken wisely and have given me a lot of insight. I think of people such as Roy Littlechief, Floyd Minifingers and Johnny Chief Moon, to name just a few, who have said the entire problem boils down to one thing.
In their view the problem is that for over 130 years the entire aboriginal community was operated out of this place by federal governments of the past. At no time could it ever be worse than it is now. There has been an absolute absence of accountability on the reserves. Not all of them. I want to make it absolutely clear that I have seen some very effective reserves, some good ones. I only wish that those who are doing so well could get the message out to the hundreds I have seen not doing very well.
These people were talking about the various types of problems that the member from the NDP refused to address because he is sick and tired of hearing about the grief they see in the provinces. I wish hon. members from the NDP and Liberals would have come to Burnt Hill in Winnipeg when they had the final meeting and heard from the people who were talking from their hearts, the ones who are living in abject poverty.
I would have liked to have seen them visit with a mother and father who lost a three year old girl just weeks before. I went into their home, into a soup hole. They had no place else to discharge water. They did not have a sewage system so they asked for one.
